In the 1500s, European mathematicians extended these ideas to cubic and quartic equations using formulas involving cube roots and other radicals. But no such formula worked for quintics, the name ...

The equation can be written as follows: 1/v^2 * ∂^2y/∂t^2= ∂^2y/∂x^2. In this equation, v is the velocity of a wave, and the other parts describe the displacement of the wave in one direction.

A UNSW Sydney mathematician has discovered a new method to tackle algebra's oldest challenge—solving higher polynomial equations. Polynomials are equations involving a variable raised to powers ...